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A man who suffers from multiple sclerosis says he will never vote for the Conservative Party again after the government announced a radical overhaul of its disability benefit system.
Dave Johnston, 55, who suffers from secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, previously said I He feared that the Work Competency Assessment (WCA) would replace the existing Personal Independence Assistance (PIP) system.
Johnston claims both universal credits and PIPs. He previously described how his PIP evaluation he had to do in 2019 was “exhausting”, “humiliating” and caused a relapse of his condition.
The government is abolishing the WCA for determining benefits and replacing it with the PIP system used to determine the day-to-day assistance a person with a disability may need.
There are concerns that the threshold for receiving PIP is stricter than existing benefits. This means that people who are unemployed due to short-term or fluctuating circumstances may not be eligible for support.
Mr Johnston said he would vote Tory for the rest of his life, but with these changes in disability, he will likely not vote for the party again in the next election.
“I voted for Boris Johnson, but now I will not vote for Rishi Sunak. I find these changes deplorable.
“They are going to punish the poorest and weakest people in this world.”
He didn’t say he would switch to Labor or the Liberal Democrats, saying he didn’t have much of a choice.
Johnston said combining benefits “doesn’t work,” with PIP being payments used to help with additional living expenses, and WCA looking at how much Semonet’s health and disability affect his ability to work. It is used to check whether
On Wednesday, Amber Valley Conservative MP Nigel Mills challenged Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride to the change, urging people who are unable to work consistently to get the right to government assistance. He argued that there was a risk of facing tougher thresholds.
The government denies this. “Change is not rushed, and it’s never rushed,” Stride said, adding that “there will be plenty of time to discuss and work around these issues over the next few years.”
But Johnston, a native of Newmarket, Suffolk, believed he would be forced to work if changes were made, but his current state of mind prevented him from doing so.
“The other benefit of this is that it keeps me going back to work, finding a job, making it more mandatory. Told. I.
Mr. Johnston worked as a production manager at a bakery, but was forced to quit due to his poor health, which also caused depression and stress. He originally had a relapsing and remitting condition that became more aggressive and now affects the entire right side of his body.
“I’m worried because PIP itself was a bad thing, but now I’m trying to wipe out the easiest part of my benefit application.”
I On Tuesday, ministers said they couldn’t say how many people could be affected by the changes because the government didn’t have the data available.
At a Commons Work and Pensions Committee hearing, DWP Disability, Health and Pensions Director Katie Farrington rejected claims that the government was “trying to raise the bar” to get benefits.
“Many people who are not claiming PIP now can come and do so,” she said. “Then there will be a group of people with short-term conditions, such as those undergoing chemotherapy or radiation, and that group of people will be protected,” she said.
